Chapter 36 - The Saintess Refuses to Give Up
Chapter 36 - The Saintess Refuses to Give Up
“Do not hesitate to extend a helping hand to those in distress—that is the first teaching of the Radain Church.”
Auriel naturally began her sermon to the villagers who had gathered at the village chief’s house to see the Saintess.
“Auriel~ We’re done processing the monster corpses.”
“Thank you, Emily. Everyone, as you just heard, the Bolfertingers that attacked the village have been dealt with.”
“Um… We usually use Bolfertinger meat for food and their hides for clothing… But can we still use the demonized ones the same way?”
“Normally, absolutely not. Demonized monsters emit a vile aura not only while alive but even from their corpses, so you should never approach them. However, this time, I purified the Bolfertinger corpses with divine power, so there should be no problem.”
“…”
“If you’re still worried, you could also sell the Bolfertinger corpses to the Adventurer’s Guild. Emily has already cleaned them up neatly, so they should be easy to sell.”
“Ah! That’s a great idea. Thank you, Saintess!”
After that, the villagers continued showering the Saintess and her party with gratitude and praise for eliminating the corrupted Bolfertingers that had attacked them.
It took quite some time before Auriel could finally leave the chief’s residence.
The warm, gentle night air tickled her nose.
Of course, part of it was due to the summer weather, but the southern region’s climate was the complete opposite of the Radain Holy Nation’s.
“Finally out? Must’ve been tough dealing with all those people, Saintess.”
“The villagers were looking for you too, Emily.”
“Nah, I’m good~ Not really into receiving thanks.”
After that, the two walked silently along the path toward the opposite side of the village.
“Hmm… Somehow, it feels like we’ve strayed pretty far from the original purpose of this journey—finding the Heavenly Demon.”
At Emily’s words, the Saintess gave a bitter smile.
Nearly two years had already passed since Auriel and Emily secretly left the Radain Church to begin their journey in search of the Heavenly Demon.
It had been a motivated but poorly planned start.
All they knew was his name, appearance, and the strange power he wielded.
With no leads whatsoever on where he had gone, they had set out from the Radain Holy Nation blindly.
“Still, things were going decently well up to a certain point.”
As Emily said, that much was true.
Emily, a former A-rank adventurer and skilled rogue tracker, had fully utilized her abilities to gather information on the “black-haired foreigner” and played a major role in chasing his trail.
“…But even the eyewitness accounts of the Heavenly Demon eventually stopped.”
The Saintess lowered her gaze with a gloomy expression.
Three months into following his trail, after a sighting in a small kingdom’s castle southwest of the Radain Holy Nation, all leads had completely vanished.
Maybe he used a transformation spell or artifact. This is bad…
After prolonged investigation, Emily concluded with frustration.
Their only clue—his appearance—had become useless.
The only paths left to them were to give up… or to wander aimlessly, trusting in chance.
Naturally, Auriel strongly insisted on the latter.
“I hate to say this, but… haven’t the last few months basically been the same as your usual duties back in Radain? Traveling around, exorcising demons, helping those in need…”
But no matter how strong her will, a path that didn’t exist wouldn’t magically appear.
In the end, the two became drifters, hoping they might stumble upon information about the Heavenly Demon.
Combined with the Saintess’s inability to ignore injustice, their journey to find him had unknowingly transformed into a pilgrimage.
“…”
“Auriel. I get how you feel, but isn’t it about time to give up? Wouldn’t it be better to return to the Holy Nation and prepare properly— Wait.”
Emily, who had been trying to persuade Auriel, suddenly stopped mid-sentence and stared straight ahead.
Someone stood in their path.
A mysterious figure clad in the white robes of the Radain Church, their face hidden beneath a hood.
Though the two were slightly wary, they already knew who it was.
“—Excuse me, Saintess. May Juten’s blessings be with you.”
“May Juten’s blessings be with you, Brother. What brings you here this time?”
“I bring a message from the Church for the Saintess.”
“Aren’t you guys tired of this? How many times do we have to say we’ll return when the time comes? Stop rushing us.”
“Emily, wait. This doesn’t seem to be about that.”
“…”
Though she didn’t retract her suspicious glare, Emily stepped back.
“My apologies. So, what is the message?”
“Another Fallen Angel has appeared.”
“…!”
“Wait, seriously?!”
“…Tell me more.”
The Saintess’s demeanor shifted instantly.
“The Church’s prophet has received a revelation from Juten.”
“What was the revelation?”
“‘At the southernmost edge of the continent, in a village by the sea, one who commands plants as limbs shall appear.’”
The messenger retrieved a scroll from his robes and handed it to the Saintess.
“In response, the Church requests that the Saintess visit the southern regions of the Arkesia Empire—believed to be the location of the revelation—to assess the situation while negotiations between the Church and the Empire conclude.”
“…Emily.”
“Got it. I’m your bodyguard, after all.”
The usual gentleness in the Saintess’s golden eyes was replaced by unwavering resolve.
Though finding her benefactor was important, she couldn’t ignore her greater duty.
“Tell the Church I accept their request and will depart immediately.”
A teatime between the two Herthe siblings.
“…”
This is suffocating.
However, the relationship between Parmela and Beltane was less like siblings and more like leaders of opposing nations forced to sit together out of necessity.
Setting her teacup down loudly, Parmela spoke first.
“I distinctly recall telling you to send only the magic cores.”
“That wouldn’t be proper, Sister. They are the family’s assets, after all—precious byproducts of demons that must be handled with utmost care.”
“And this ‘utmost care’ involves sending fifteen brats along with them?”
This is tense.
“I also came to check on your condition, Sister. Just in case… you weren’t fooling around with some commoner.”
“…!”
Ah. So he already knew about me.
Beltane set down his barely touched teacup and stood.
“I’ll take my leave now. Oh, and I’ve obtained formal long-term stay permission from the Academy, so you’ll be seeing me often for a while.”
“…”
Parmela silently glared at him.
“One more thing—the magic cores I delivered… I hope they’re put to proper use.”
After receiving the five magic cores, I quickly retreated to my room to escape Parmela’s oppressive mood.
[Initiating mana absorption.]
The mana flowing from the five magic cores in my hand gathered in my blood vessels and converged into my dantian.
This isn’t enough.
But the amount was frustratingly small.
Still, I heard Blood Orcs are among the stronger monsters.
—Don’t compare me, a Fallen Deity, to some lowly monster.
At this rate, it’ll only fill about… 20%.
As I reminisced about my battle with Vertus, where I could replenish my demonic qi instantly even after spamming Heavenly Demon Arts, I clicked my tongue.
[Suggestion. A new method for utilizing Vertus’s soul has been discovered.]
Out of nowhere?
[After completing the analysis of Vertus’s soul, a new possibility was identified during the mana absorption process.]
A possibility? What kind?
[By examining the data recorded in his spiritual body, we were able to grasp the principles behind some of his abilities.]
[Instead of converting absorbed mana into demonic qi, we can inject it directly into his soul, transforming the mana into a waveform similar to Vertus’s and using it to activate those abilities.]
“Oooh…”
So it’s ability replication, huh?
About time.
It didn’t make sense that absorbing a mid-boss’s soul only planted annoying hallucinations in my head.
—…I never agreed to this.
At this point, you should’ve seen it coming. Your consent doesn’t matter.
—Damn you…
So, what abilities are available?
[Currently, two abilities can be used: Wing Manifestation and Mana Area Deployment.]
[Wing Manifestation creates wings similar to Vertus’s, allowing flight.]
Hmm. I can already achieve something similar with Void Steps, but…
[This ability offers significantly higher energy efficiency compared to using demonic qi for Void Steps.]
Well, that changes things. Fuel efficiency is king.
And the other one?
[Mana Area Deployment mixes Vertus’s mana into the atmosphere, scattering it to transform the surrounding area into a battlefield advantageous to the caster.]
[Within this area, other lifeforms are continuously eroded by Vertus’s mana, suffering from debuffs such as reduced physical abilities and mental instability.]
So it’s like when Vertus dyed the sky black?
[Affirmative. However, the effect’s intensity varies depending on the amount of Corrupted Mana invested, and at this stage, it is weaker than the original.]
A bit disappointing, but still good.
Kind of like Ryōiki Ten… or something similar.
I should test it out.
Waiting until nightfall, I carefully slipped out of the servants’ quarters and entered a distant forest.
After confirming no one was around, I extracted a small portion of mana stored in my dantian and forced it into a point near the upper part of my dantian—where Vertus presumably resided.
—Wait…!
I ignored Vertus’s frantic protest.
[Synchronization skill, ‘Black Wing Manifestation,’ activated.]
A sharp, flesh-rending pain spread across my shoulder blades.
The sensation of something tearing through my clothes and emerging was bizarre.
Turning my head to look, I saw a pair of magnificent black-feathered wings sprouting from my back.